Rope Swing
by Lehra Star
Summary: "The name's Bill, but that's not important right now, Rope Swing. What's important is that you are about to waste a perfectly good meat suit on this permanent farewell trip of yours." William looked at the offered hand of the isosceles monster not quite sure at what to do, but finally took it allowing the glowing blue flames to engulf him.
1. Chapter 1

Little William Bleu looked up at the noose he made for himself tied neatly on the rafters above him as he balances precariously on the wooden three legged chair. It helped him reach the thick hemp rope that was braided tightly as it swayed quietly side to side. He rubbed the spot where his right eye used to be out of nervous habit, a bandage in its place, remembering the bottle that was shattered against his face that obliterated the fragile orb that used to twinkle an innocent pearly blue.

He stared intently at the rope that swung like a pendulum against his waning time, his fractured emotions not quite making sense exactly of the permanent outcome of his actions. Nevertheless, he knew he did not wish for his prolonged existence. He did not wish for help, he did not wish for pity, he did not wish for anything really. He just did not wish to _be_.

He placed the loose rope around his tiny neck, looked up at the ceiling with his one good eye, trying to remember any sort of good that had happened in his life. He grasped for anything to be his very last thought before he left this world, but could only find the cold grip of reality weighing on him more and more. There really wasn't much good within his life to want to remember. Not anything he could think of at that moment. He gave a sigh of submission and hovered his foot over the edge of the chair.

Then everything around him turned a pale grey.

"Now, now, now. There's no need to be so hasty, kid!" William looked wildly around, scared out of his wits at being discovered. In a desperate attempt, he flung himself from the chair, but gravity did not make him fall like it was supposed to. "Heh heh. You're pretty funny, kid! Morbid and damaged beyond repair, but funny! You keep that up!" The reverberating voice chilled William to the bone.

"Wh-who are you?" William looked over at the strange triangular thing in front of him as he floated around in the air.

"The name's Bill, but that's not important right now, Rope Swing. What's important is that you are about to waste a perfectly good meat suit on this permanent farewell trip of yours." Bill tipped his hat to the little boy at his introduction before leaning against his cane. "Now I know your time is a valuable and it is LITERALLY hanging by a thread at the moment, but I just need you to hear me out before you take that dive."

"Did you just call me...?"

"Now I understand life is bleak and whatever, and there's really nothing for you to live for, as is obvious by your current predicament, and so you want to make sure that you go out without a hitch, am I right? The million dollar question here, Rope Swing, is why not give it to someone who will be better able to purpose said meat suit?"

"Like what?" William looked at the dream demon suspiciously.

"Does it matter, kid? You're gonna be dead anyway." Bill gave an amused chuckle at the troubled child. "Here, Rope Swing, let me break it down for you. You still get to go... wherever it is you think you go after you kick the bucket, go towards the light, heh heh, and I get to have your body as is, no discounts or refunds."

"Like... what? A possession?"

"Yeah! Exactly like that! Except instead of two souls vying for this prime real-estate, I get the only copy to the keys of the condo here." Bill tapped at the boy's head with his cane.

"Ow," William rubbed his head, thinking some more, "... W-will it hurt?"

"You're about to do the worst chinup from the rafters and you wanna know if a possessions gonna...," Bill gave a few unbelieving curt sounds before calming back down and clearing his throat. "What I'm offering is a pain free get out of responsibility for your death card, Rope Swing! I just need you to agree to give me the body that you're leaving behind." Bill reached out his hand towards the boy who had only turned 14 just a month ago. "We got a deal?"

William looked at the offered hand not quite sure at what to do. He started to weigh the pros and cons of the situation... not really finding any cons on his part to be honest, but he couldn't let Bill take over his life without fully knowing what exactly goes on. "Mister, the thing is... my life isn't really something you want."

"I beg to differ, Rope Swing!"

"No, you really don't understand! My parents..."

Bill interrupted William, continuing for him, "Don't love you, are horrible drunks, yadda yadda! I know what I'm getting myself into kid, just like YOU know what you're getting yourself out of. So don't worry about it! Just relax! Take my hand, and I can take you to a quiet oblivion myself." Bill's hand never faltered, he knew how this would turn out. Desperate times and what-not.

Little William looked again to the outstretched hand... and finally took it allowing the glowing blue flames to engulf him.

The ruckus laughter that echoed throughout the small mobile home made the house shudder in terror at what had just been unleashed onto the world as quiet little William slipped peacefully into the darkness he had so craved.


	2. Chapter 2

The rain drizzled down, plinking against the roof of the Mystery shack, leaving the twins to keep their adventuring indoors. Grunkle Stan was listening to the weather report on the radio, "Put on your umbrella caps this week folks! We're expecting quite a down pour!" The old man gave an exasperated groan.

"This is just great! How am I supposed to keep this place busy if the rain is just gonna scare away all the tourists?" He complained to the radio, which in turn, did not respond to him.

Suddenly the door flew open with a gust of howling wind, the water spraying inside as a figure with a heavy raincoat slipped themselves quickly into the shack, dripping water everywhere on the floor as they struggled with their umbrella.

"Wendy?! You were supposed to be here an hour ago!" Stan shouted.

"Sorry, Mr. Pines! I tried calling but the lines are GAH!" Wendy slammed the door shut, continuing to struggle with her red umbrella. "Close you stupid... AHA!" She placed it next to the door before turning around to look at Grunkle Stan tapping his foot with a very displeased look on his face. "Like I said, Mr. Pines, I tried calling earlier." She smiled sheepishly at her senior, taking off her rain coat to put ont the coat rack. "Anyways, there's something I really need to talk to you about."

"Oh yeah?"

"It's about my..." Wendy was interrupted by a loud crash coming down the stairs as none other than the Mystery Twins fought over the last slice of pizza.

"GIVE IT BACK, DIPPER! I CALLED DIBS!" Mabel screeched at the top of her lungs.

"GOTTA CATCH ME MA-OOF!" Dipper ran straight into Wendy, making his hat fly off, but luckily he hadn't managed to topple her. When he composed himself, he started to sweat uncontrollably at the realization of who he had just bumped into. "W-Wendy! Heh heh! Nice to see you again!" Before Mabel could interject, he tossed her the last slice of pizza, his appetite completely gone.

"Hey, kiddo!" Wendy smiled and ruffled Dipper's hair.

"Mabel and I are just watching some scary movies, if you know... you wanna join in?" Dipper was really hoping that she would say yes to it, she was just so much fun to hang out with.

"Aww, man dude! I'd love to, but I really need to talk to your uncle for sec." Wendy picked up Dipper's hat and dusted it off before giving it back to him. "Maybe later?"

"Uh, right!" Dipper glanced to the ground a little dejected. "Later then. Heh, heh."

Mabel ran up and snatched Dipper's hat, "COME AT ME, BRO!" Mabel called out, diffusing the situation for her brother.

"Mabel! Give that back!" Dipper ran after his sister, happy to be saved from the awkwardness.

Grunkle Stan shook his fist at his niece and nephew, "NO RUNNING UP THE STAIRS! YOU'LL BREAK-" Another crash resounded. "AH, whatever. I'm sure they're fine. What did ya need to talk to me about, Wendy?" Mr. Pines turned down the radio, not wanting to listen to police reports on a loose wild animal.

"Well, sir, there's a bit of family trouble at the moment." Wendy leaned on the counter. "It's pretty serious."

"You asking for some time off?"

"Nah, nothing like that, Mr. Pines. I just wanted to ask you if you'd mind my little cousin hanging around the shack during his visit. He's a sweet kid, just..." Wendy sighed, trying to figure out how to put this into words. "He's just been in a bad way."

"He ain't some little criminal is he? 'Cause if he is, I don't need some midget hooligan trying to get a five finger discount in _my_ store."

"Actually, Mr. Pines, it's a bit worse than that. You see he's been in the hospital for a little while now because of certain... mental issues that he's been coping with." Stan gave her an uncertain look. "Nothing dangerous... or at least not to other people." Wendy finished, still trying her best to explain. It was something that was difficult for her to cope with. It was her own flesh and blood after all, and he's still just a little kid. She couldn't imagine what he could be going through to want to do something so horrible to himself.

Stan was taken aback by his realization. "Oh... oh no. Wendy, I-I'm really sorry to hear that." He put a hand on Wendy's shoulder to try and give her some sort of comfort. "Look, if you think he'd be better off running around here, then I don't mind, you have my permission, but know that you're responsible for him."

Wendy perked up. "Thanks a lot, Mr. Pines! I'll be sure to keep an eye on him!"

"Yeah, yeah. Now go clean up that puddle you made! I don't need some old crone trying to sue me for her broken hip!" Grunkle Stan walked back to his office to take care of some paperwork he had been putting off.

"You got it, Mr. Pines." Wendy quickly went to get the mop and bucket, unaware of the car that was pulling up in the Mystery Shack driveway.


	3. Chapter 3

Dipper sat on his bed, not paying any attention to "_Person Swamp! A Swamp Made Out of a Person!_" He was far too engrossed trying not to think about Wendy. He should be over the fact that they could never be together. She was too old, he was too young, but he can't help but be bummed out by it.

Mabel started poking his cheek. "Come on, Dipper, cheer up! There'll be someone out there for you! You know... your own age!"

Dipper sighed, "Yeah you're right. I'm just a little down."

"Nothing that a movie can't help with!" Mabel smiled, directing his attention to the television. At that moment thunder roared as a strike of lighting shattered the sky, taking out the electricity within the shack. Mabel smiled sheepishly at the predicament.

"Well that's just great." Dipper sighed.

"Maybe we can play some flashlight tag instead?" Mabel suggested already making her way to the stairs to "borrow" from her uncle's shop.

Meanwhile as Wendy finished putting the mop away after cleaning the puddle on the floor, the door swung open once again. She looked back with slight annoyance, not wanting to go through the trouble of cleaning again. "Sorry we're closed." She said, but realized who it was she was speaking to. "Cuz? That you?"

Her younger cousin looked in her direction with his one good pale blue eye, his golden locks a short wet mess as it clung in clumps on his forehead. He gave a small unenthusiastic wave of his hand, not making any eye contact as he did so.

Wendy walked over with a sympathetic smile on her face, putting a hand on her cousin's shoulder. "It's so great seeing you again, dude! I'm really glad you were able to come over." Wendy didn't know much about how to handle someone going through depression, but she didn't see the harm is showing him some appreciation. Her cousin was a sweet kid after all.

When he didn't say anything, she just continued, hoping to get him to say something. "Why don't I introduce you to a couple of cool friends of mine? You like horror movies right?" She asked, ruffling his drenched blonde hair.

He rubbed his arm through the yellow sleeve of his hoody to calm his nerves a bit, not used to meeting new people. "O-okay." He finally spoke.

"Great!" Wendy put a hand to her cousin's back, leading him to the stairs in order to introduce him to the Mystery Twins. At that moment thunder roared as a strike of lighting shattered the sky, taking out the electricity within the shack. "Great." Wendy said again with dreadful sarcasm.

They could hear Stan's yell from the office, "AW COME ON! I'm sure I paid the bill this time!"

"Wait here while I get some flashlights." Wendy left her cousin at the bottom of the stairs.

Little William Bleu looked up trying to see through the pitch black darkness that encompassed the Mystery Shack. He waved his hand around head as if to keep a mosquito at bay. He leaned against the railing of the stairs awaiting the return of his red haired cousin, hoping she wouldn't take long, but quickly became bored at his current predicament and started to make his way upstairs.

He heard footsteps coming down as well, the high pitched voice of a girl echoing from the walls as a small, "Oops," resounded. Before he was able to call out or get out of the way, he was smashed into and they both tumbled down the stairs in a series of oofs and ows.

William rubbed his head at the bottom of the stairs, the rattling of his brain trying to subside. When he looked up, he came face to face with Mabel Pines.


	4. Chapter 4

As Mabel made her way down the stairs she missed a step due to the darkness and wasn't able to grab the railing in time. The feeling of vertigo overwhelmed her senses as she tried her best to reach out to something to hold onto before coming into contact with the ground and possibly break her neck. What she didn't expect was to crash into something solid and wet that ultimately pillowed her fall to the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh, ow!" Mabel could feel the bruises forming on her pale skin as she pushed herself up onto her hands and knees. She finally noticed that she was on top of someone as they shifted beneath her, groaning as they did so. "Oh, gosh! I am so sorry! Are you alright?" Mabel quickly got to her feet, hanging onto the drenched and bruised boy as she did so, helping him to his feet as well.

William noticed the hand that held his, his cheeks turning pink when he saw Mabel smiling sheepishly at him. He snatched his hand away as if he was burned, rubbing his arm afterward nervously. "S-sorry."

"What? I was the one who crashed into you, silly!" Mabel's smile grew wider as she nudged William with her elbow. The two were blinded by a white light as Wendy came into the scene.

"Hey, Mabel! This is my cousin, William." Wendy introduced, tossing the younger girl a pink flashlight.

"You're cousins? But you look nothing alike." Mabel switched her gaze back and forth between the two, trying to find the family resemblance.

Wendy gave a laugh. "Not everyone in my family has red hair and is a walking wall of abdominal muscle you know. Anyway, Will here is my cousin twice removed from my mom's side of the family... if that makes any sense."

"Uhhh..."

"Never mind. Where's Dipper?"

"Upstairs still." Mabel was able to get a good look at William now that she had a flashlight in her hands. He was still soaking from the rain in his yellow hoodie and black slacks. He had short, golden wispy hair, a pearly blue eye, and legs for days. She gave an awkward smile making her braces shine in the light towards him, "It's really nice running into you, Will!" She laughed nervously, "Ya-ya see what I... I just did there? _Run _into? Ha HA!"

Will smiled back, his hand still rubbing his at his arm. "Heh, heh. Yeah, maybe next time I'll fall for you... or... on top of you... OR!" William's face turned a bright red as he realized what just came out of his mouth, his voice cracking from the embarrassment. He pulled the hood over his hair, not wanting to show his face.

Wendy looked down at her cousin, snorting at his response, covering her mouth as she did so. "Why don't I go and grab Dipper while you two get to know each other better?" Wendy went for the stairs, grabbing onto the railing as she did so. It was so rare to see her cousin actually make an attempt at opening up to people not to mention HILARIOUS!

She figured Mabel and Dipper would be good for him to pal around with. Mabel's openness and wild imagination along with Dipper's know how and wit should DEFINITELY be able to get William out of his dank dark shell. She can only hope anyway. She did not want to see him like that in the hospital again. It was too much for the family to handle. She couldn't even talk about it to her little brothers.

She remembered how much his mothered cried over him while he was sleeping in his hospital bed, his dead beat dad still nowhere to be seen. Everyone was in honest disbelief. Until that point, no one really suspected anything was wrong. He was a good kid, always made top of his class, had a huge slew of friends, and smiled brighter than the sun at times.

Wendy NEVER would have pegged him as suicidal. Not like she could blame him to be honest. His dad had a few problems himself, the drinking and gambling to name just a few. Him and Wendy's dad would get into it at times, which is why her part of the family didn't talk much to William's side of the family. Quite a rift to be perfectly honest. It was surprising to say the last when she heard William would be staying with them for a while, but it was at his mother's insistence that he does. She's trying so hard to do better by him.

Wendy is still holding out hope for her cousin. He was such a good kid, and he deserved to be happy. Whether he believed he did or not.


	5. Chapter 5

Mabel and William stood next to each other in an awkward silence. The two of them were red in the face from William's response and didn't know how to break the ice without sounding stupid. Mabel looked to the older boy hiding within his hoodie.

"I see you got a bit of liquid sunshine on you!" Mabel laughed, trying to diffuse the situation.

William glanced at her, the pale blue eye seeming to glint a shining gold as the light hit it a certain way. "Heh heh, uh yeah." He looked down to his drenched hoodie, the color now a dull yellow as it continued to drip the "liquid sunshine". "Should've brought sunglasses I guess." William muttered. "N-nevermind, that didn't make any sense."

"HAHA! Sure it did!" Mabel hit him in the arm playfully. "That was funny!" She grabbed a hold of his sleeve, pulling him towards the linen closet. "Let's get you a towel before you catch a cold! Besides you're dripping everywhere!"

Once they rounded the corner, they could hear Mabel's Great Uncle coming out of his office, mumbling something about the electricity, before a hard thud came. "OW! MY HIP!" He cried out in agony.

William looked to Mabel with a raised eyebrow. She gave an amused snort and said, "Don't worry, I'm sure he's fine!" She opened the linen closet and got out the biggest, shaggiest towel she could find and draped it over William's head. The older boy just stood there accepting the kind gesture, nonchalantly waving a hand next to his head before replying with, "thanks." He proceeded to dry his hair out as Mabel stood there watching him with a smile plastered on her face making her braces twinkle in the light.

"I, uh, really like your hoodie." She tried for conversation once more.

"Thanks." William's voice cracked. "I really like your sweater." He said, pointing to Mabel's shooting star.

"Thanks! I made it myself!" She beamed.

"Yeah, I can tell." William muttered under his breath. "Hey uh..." William quickly glanced at his hand to see the names he had scribbled down earlier with a marker, "May-bell." He said with a bit of difficulty.

"Yeah?"

"You have a place I can hang my hoodie to dry?" He asked.

"YEAH! Right in here!" She directed him towards the bathroom. "I'd let you use the dryer, but you know! Heheh."

Meanwhile, as Wendy got to the stop of the stairs to get Dipper, she heard what sounded like shattered glass come from his and Mabel's room. She started to run as fast as she could towards him hoping that Dipper wasn't hurt. "Dipper?" She cried out as she kicked down the door. "What's going on?"

She looked around the room, shining the flashlight every which way, trying to find him. Glass glinted with spattered blood on the floor. She started to panic a bit trying to find a trace of him in his room when she finally landed on a spot below the triangle window.

"Wendy! Did you see it?" Dipper got up from where he had been sitting, holding onto his leg, his hair frazzled and his eyes wide with alarm.

"HOLY CRAP! Dipper! What happened?" Wendy went to his side to see if he was any worse for wear. "You okay, dude?"

"Y-yeah I'm fine! Just got bit is all." Dipper tried to comfort her. It really was nothing, he was honestly far more startled and a bit shaken.

"Then where'd all this blood come from?" Wendy looked back to the broken glass.

"It was some... _thing_! It just crashed right through the window and tried to take my journal! It bit me when I wouldn't let go of it then jumped back out again when it heard Grunkle Stan yelling! It was TOTALLY AWESOME!" Dipper smiled through the adrenaline rush that coursed through him. He felt completely unstoppable at that moment.

"Do you know what it is?"

Dipper's smile faltered. He had no clue, it was way too dark to see, and when the bits of lightning did decide to strike, it made sure to stay within the shadows of his room. "No." He sighed. "I don't. But I'll definitely find out!" He wished Mabel had come with the flashlights sooner. What was keeping her in the first place? A thought crossed his mind. "Where's Mabel?" He asked with frenzied worry.

"Whoa, calm down, dude, she's with my cousin right now. Nothing to worry about." Wendy put a hand on Dipper's shoulder, knowing just how protective of his sister he could be.

"Cousin?"

Wendy smiled. "Yeah! I'll introduce you! But first, let's make sure you didn't break anything besides that window, alright?"

"Yeah. Right." Dipper relaxed, hoping that whatever just attacked him stayed out of the shack from now on.


End file.
